Method and apparatus for allocation of discontinuous uplink resource

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for transmitting an uplink signal in a wireless communication system, wherein the method for transmitting an uplink signal in a wireless communication system comprises: a step of receiving a control channel signal containing resource allocation information; and a step of transmitting an uplink signal in accordance with the control channel signal, wherein the resource allocation information has a combination index r to be used for indicating two sets of resource blocks, and each set of resource blocks includes one or more continuous resource blocks.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of co-pending application Ser. No.13/577,623 filed on Aug. 7, 2012, which is the national phase of PCTInternational Application No. PCT/KR2011/003792 filed on May 24, 2011,and which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/347,794filed May 24, 2010. The entire contents of all of the above applicationsare hereby incorporated by reference. The present application relates toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/051,280, which is a Continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/577,623.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, andmore particularly, to a method for discontinuous uplink resourceallocation and an apparatus for the same.

BACKGROUND ART

A wireless communication system has been widely developed to providevarious kinds of communication services such as voice and data.Generally, the wireless communication system is a multiple access systemthat can support communication with multiple users by sharing availablesystem resources (bandwidth, transmission power, etc.). Examples of themultiple access system include a code division multiple access (CDMA)system, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) system, a timedivision multiple access (TDMA) system, an orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple access (OFDMA) system, and a single carrier frequency divisionmultiple access (SC-FDMA) system.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

An object of the present invention devised to solve the conventionalproblem is to provide a method for efficiently allocating resources in awireless communication system and an apparatus for the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method fordiscontinuous resource allocation for uplink signal transmission and anapparatus for the same.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the objectsthat could be achieved with the present invention are not limited towhat has been particularly described hereinabove and the above and otherobjects that the present invention could achieve will be more clearlyunderstood from the following detailed description.

Technical Solution

In one aspect of the present invention, a method for transmitting anuplink signal in a wireless communication system comprises the steps ofreceiving a control channel signal including resource allocationinformation; and transmitting the uplink signal in accordance with thecontrol channel signal, wherein the resource allocation informationincludes a combinatorial index r used to indicate two resource blocksets, each of which includes one or more continuous resource blockgroups (RBGs), and the combinatorial index r is given by the followingEquation:

$\begin{matrix}{{r = {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{M^{\prime} - 1}\; {\langle\begin{matrix}{N - s_{i}} \\{M^{\prime} - i}\end{matrix}\rangle}}},{{\langle\begin{matrix}x \\y\end{matrix}\rangle} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} \geq y} \\0 & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} < y}\end{matrix} \right.}} & {Equation}\end{matrix}$

where,

M′ is 4,

N is the number of RBGs+1,

s₀ and s₁ correspond to a starting RBG index and an ending RBG index ofthe first resource block set,

s₂ and s₃ correspond to a starting RBG index and an ending index of thesecond resource block set,

$\quad\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix}$

represents

$\frac{{x\left( {x - 1} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} \left( {x - y + 1} \right)}{{y\left( {y - 1} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} 1}.$

In another aspect of the present invention, a communication apparatusused in a wireless communication system comprises a radio frequency (RF)unit; and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to receive acontrol channel signal including resource allocation information andtransmit the uplink signal in accordance with the control channelsignal, and the resource allocation information includes a combinatorialindex r used to indicate two resource block sets, each of which includesone or more continuous resource block groups (RBGs), the combinatorialindex r being given by the following Equation:

$\begin{matrix}{{r = {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{M^{\prime} - 1}{\langle\begin{matrix}{N - s_{i}} \\{M^{\prime} - i}\end{matrix}\rangle}}},{{\langle\begin{matrix}x \\y\end{matrix}\rangle} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} \geq y} \\0 & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} < y}\end{matrix} \right.}} & \underset{\_}{Equation}\end{matrix}$

where,

M′ is 4,

N is the number of RBGs+1,

s₀ and s₁ correspond to a starting RBG index and an ending RBG index ofthe first resource block set,

s₂ and s₃ correspond to a starting RBG index and an ending index of thesecond resource block set,

$\quad\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix}$

represents

$\frac{{x\left( {x - 1} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} \left( {x - y + 1} \right)}{{y\left( {y - 1} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} 1}.$

Preferably, the starting RBG index and the ending RBG index of the firstresource block set are s₀ and s₁−1, respectively, and the starting RBGindex and the ending RBG index of the second resource block set are s₂and s₃−1, respectively.

Preferably, {S_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) satisfies 1≦s_(i)≦N and S_(i)<S_(i+1).

Preferably, the N is given by the following Equation:

┌N _(RB) ^(UL) /P┐+1  Equation

where,

N_(RB) ^(UL) represents the number of resource blocks of an uplink band,

P represents the number of resource blocks constituting an RBG, and

┌ ┐ represents a ceiling function.

Preferably, the control channel signal is a physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH) signal, and the uplink signal is a physical uplinkshared channel (PUSCH) signal.

In still another aspect of the present invention, a method fortransmitting an uplink signal in a wireless communication systemcomprises the steps of receiving a control channel signal includingresource allocation information; and transmitting the uplink signal inaccordance with the control channel signal, wherein the resourceallocation information includes a combinatorial index corresponding totwo or more resource index pairs selected from a plurality of resourceindexes, and each of the resource index pairs corresponds to a startingresource index and an ending resource index of resource setscontinuously allocated.

In further still another aspect of the present invention, acommunication apparatus used in a wireless communication systemcomprises a radio frequency (RF) unit; and a processor, wherein theprocessor is configured to receive a control channel signal includingresource allocation information and transmit the uplink signal inaccordance with the control channel signal, and the resource allocationinformation includes a combinatorial index corresponding to two or moreresource index pairs selected from a plurality of resource indexes, andeach of the resource index pairs corresponds to a starting resourceindex and an ending resource index of resource sets continuouslyallocated.

Preferably, each of the resource index pairs includes a first resourceindex and a second resource index, the first resource index representingthe starting resource index, and the second resource index representingthe ending resource index +1.

Preferably, the plurality of resource indexes include one virtualresource index.

Preferably, the last resource index of the plurality of resource indexesis a virtual resource index.

Preferably, the control channel signal is a physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH) signal, and the uplink signal is a physical uplinkshared channel (PUSCH) signal.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, resources can be allocatedefficiently in a wireless communication system. Specifically,discontinuous resource allocation for uplink transmission can beperformed efficiently.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that that theeffects that could be achieved with the present invention are notlimited to what has been particularly described hereinabove and otheradvantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood fromthe following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a radio frame in a 3GPPsystem;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a resource grid of a downlink slot;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a downlink subframe;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a structure of an uplink subframe;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating mapping of a virtual resource block(VRB) into a physical resource block (PRB);

FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C are diagrams illustrating resource allocation types 0to 2 of the existing LTE system;

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are diagrams illustrating discrete fourier transformspread orthogonal frequency division multiple access (DFT-s-OFDMA)transmitter/receiver;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating localized DFT-s-OFDMA resource mapping;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating clustered DFT-s-OFDMA resource mapping;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating RBG grouping;

FIG. 11 to FIG. 13B are diagrams illustrating a method for discontinuousuplink resource allocation according to the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 are diagrams illustrating uplink transmissionaccording to the embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a base station and a user equipment,which can be applied to one embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, structures, operations, and other features of the presentinvention will be understood readily by the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. The embodiments of the present invention may be used forvarious wireless access technologies such as CDMA (code divisionmultiple access), FDMA (frequency division multiple access), TDMA (timedivision multiple access), OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multipleaccess), and SC-FDMA (single carrier frequency division multipleaccess). The CDMA may be implemented by the radio technology such asUTRA (universal terrestrial radio access) or CDMA2000. The TDMA may beimplemented by the radio technology such as global system for mobilecommunications (GSM)/general packet radio service (GPRS)/enhanced datarates for GSM evolution (EDGE). The OFDMA may be implemented by theradio technology such as IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE802.20, and evolved UTRA (E-UTRA). The UTRA is a part of a universalmobile telecommunications system (UMTS). A 3^(rd) generation partnershipproject long term evolution (3GPP LTE) communication system is a part ofan evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) that uses E-UTRA, and adopts OFDMA in adownlink and SC-FDMA in an uplink. LTE-advanced (LTE-A) is an evolvedversion of the 3GPP LTE.

The following embodiments will be described based on that technicalfeatures of the present invention are applied to the 3GPP LTE/LTE-A.However, it is to be understood that the 3GPP system is only exemplaryand the technical spirits of the present invention are not limited tothe 3GPP LTE/LTE-A. Also, specific terminologies used hereinafter areprovided to assist understanding of the present invention, and variousmodifications may be made in the specific terminologies within the rangethat does not depart from the technical spirits of the presentinvention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a radio frame.

Referring to FIG. 1, the radio frame includes ten (10) subframes, eachof which includes two slots in a time domain. The time required totransmit the subframes will be referred to as a transmission timeinterval (TTI). For example, one subframe has a length of 1 ms, and oneslot has a length of 0.5 ms. The slot includes a plurality of OFDMsymbols or SC-FDMA symbols in a time region. Since the 3GPP LTE usesOFDMA in a downlink and uses SC-FDMA in an uplink, OFDM or SC-FDMAsymbols represent one symbol interval. A resource block (RB) is aresource allocation unit, and includes a plurality of continuoussubcarriers in one slot. The aforementioned structure of the radio frameis only exemplary, and various modifications may be made in the numberof subframes included in the radio frame, the number of slots includedin the subframe, or the number of symbols included in the slot.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a resource grid of a downlink slot.

Referring to FIG. 2, the downlink slot includes a plurality of OFDMsymbols in a time region. One downlink slot includes seven (six) OFDMsymbols, and a resource block includes twelve subcarriers in a frequencydomain. Each element on the resource grid will be referred to as aresource element (RE). One resource block (RB) includes 12×7(6) resourceelements. The number N_(RB) ^(DL) of resource blocks (RBs) included inthe downlink slot depends on a downlink transmission bandwidth. Astructure of uplink slot is the same as that of the downlink slot exceptthat OFDM symbols are replaced with SC-FDMA symbols and N_(RB) ^(DL) isreplaced with N_(RB) ^(UL).

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a downlink subframe.

Referring to FIG. 3, maximum three (four) OFDM symbols located at thefront of the first slot of the subframe correspond to a control regionto which a control channel is allocated. The other OFDM symbolscorrespond to a data region to which a physical downlink shared channel(PDSCH) is allocated. Examples of the downlink control channel used inthe 3GPP LTE include PCFICH (Physical Control Format Indicator CHannel),PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control CHannel), and PHICH (Physical HybridARQ Indicator CHannel). The PCFICH is transmitted from the first OFDMsymbol of the subframe, and carries information on the number of OFDMsymbols used for transmission of the control channel within thesubframe. The PHICH carries HARQ ACK/NACK(acknowledgement/negative-acknowledgement) in response to uplinktransmission.

The control information transmitted through the PDCCH will be referredto as a downlink control information (DCI). The DCI includes resourceallocation information for a user equipment or user equipment group andother control information. For example, the DCI includes uplink/downlinkscheduling information, uplink transmission (Tx) power control command,etc.

The PDCCH carries transport format and resource allocation informationof a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH), transport format and resourceallocation information of an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH), paginginformation on a paging channel (PCH), system information on the DL-SCH,resource allocation information of upper layer control message such asrandom access response transmitted on the PDSCH, a set of transmissionpower control commands of individual user equipments (UEs) within a userequipment group, a transmission power control command, and activityindication information of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP). Aplurality of PDCCHs may be transmitted within the control region. Theuser equipment may monitor the plurality of PDCCHs. The PDCCH istransmitted on aggregation of one or a plurality of continuous controlchannel elements (CCEs). The CCE is a logic allocation unit used toprovide a coding rate based on the status of a radio channel to thePDCCH. The CCE corresponds to a plurality of resource element groups(REGs). The format of the PDCCH and the number of bits of the PDCCH aredetermined depending on the number of CCEs. A base station determines aPDCCH format depending on the DCI to be transmitted to the userequipment, and attaches cyclic redundancy check (CRC) to the controlinformation. The CRC is masked (or scrambled) with an identifier (forexample, radio network temporary identifier (RNTI)) depending on usageof the PDCCH or user of the PDCCH. If the PDCCH is for a specific userequipment, an identifier (for example, cell-RNTI (C-RNTI)) of thecorresponding user equipment may be masked with the CRC. If the PDCCH isfor a paging message, a paging identifier (for example, Paging-RNTI(P-RNTI)) may be masked with the CRC. If the PDCCH is for systeminformation (in more detail, system information block (SIB)), systeminformation RNTI (SI-RNTI) may be masked with the CRC. If the PDCCH isfor a random access response, a random access RNTI (RA-RNTI) may bemasked with the CRC. For example, CRC masking (or scrambling) includesXOR operation of CRC and RNTI at a bit level.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a structure of an uplink subframe.

Referring to FIG. 4, the uplink subframe includes a plurality of slots(for example, two). Each slot may include a plurality of SC-FDMAsymbols, wherein the number of SC-FDMA symbols included in each slot isvaried depending on a cyclic prefix (CP) length. For example, in case ofnormal CP, the slot may include SC-FDMA symbols. The uplink subframe isdivided into a data region and a control region in a frequency domain.The data region includes a PUSCH, and is used to transmit a data signalsuch as voice. The control region includes a PUCCH, and is used totransmit control information. The PUCCH includes RB pair (for example,m=0, 1, 2, 3) located at both ends of the data region on a frequencyaxis, and performs hopping on the border of the slots. The controlinformation includes HARQ ACKNACK, channel quality information (CQI), aprecoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indication (RI), etc.

Hereinafter, resource block mapping will be described. Physical resourceblocks (PRBs) and virtual resource blocks (VRBs) are defined. Thephysical resource blocks are as illustrated in FIG. 2. In other words,the physical resource blocks are defined by N_(symb) ^(DL) continuousOFDM symbols and in a time domain and N_(sc) ^(RB) continuoussubcarriers in a time domain. The physical resource blocks are given bynumbers 0˜N_(RB) ^(DL)−1 in the frequency domain. The relation betweenthe physical resource block number n_(PRB) and resource elements (k,l)of the slot is expressed by the following Equation 1.

$\begin{matrix}{n_{PRB} = \left\lfloor \frac{k}{N_{sc}^{RB}} \right\rfloor} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In this case, k is a subcarrier index, and N_(sc) ^(RB) represents thenumber of subcarriers included in one resource block.

The virtual resource blocks have the same size as that of the physicalresource blocks. Localized type virtual resource blocks (LVRB) anddistributed type virtual resource blocks (DVRB) are defined. A pair ofresource blocks are allocated to two slots of the subframe by a singlevirtual resource block number n_(VRB) regardless of the type of thevirtual resource block.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating mapping of a virtual resource block(VRB) into a physical resource block (PRB).

Referring to FIG. 5, since the LVRB is directly mapped into the PRB, avirtual resource block number n_(VRB) corresponds to the physicalresource block number n_(PRB) (n_(PRB)=n_(VRB)) The VRBs are given bynumbers 0˜N_(VRB) ^(DL)−1, and N_(VRB) ^(DL)=N_(RB) ^(DL). On the otherhand, the DVRB is mapped into the PRB through interleaving. In moredetail, the DVRB may be mapped into the PRB as expressed by Table 1below. Table 1 illustrates RB gap values.

TABLE 1 Gap (N_(gap)) System BW (N_(RB) ^(DL)) 1^(st) gap (N_(gap,1))2^(nd) gap (N_(gap,2))  6-10 ┌N_(RB) ^(DL)/2┐ N/A 11 4 N/A 12-19 8 N/A20-26 12 N/A 27-44 18 N/A 45-49 27 N/A 50-63 27 9 64-79 32 16  80-110 4816

In Table 1, N_(gap) represents a frequency interval (for example, PRBunit) when the VRBs of the same number are mapped into the PRBs of thefirst slot and the second slot. In case of 6≦N_(RB) ^(DL)≦49, only onegap value is defined (N_(gap)=N_(gap,1)). In case of 50≦N_(RB)^(DL)≦110, two gap values (N_(gap,1) and N_(gap,2)) are defined.N_(gap)=N_(gap,1) or N_(gap)=N_(gap,2) is signaled through downlinkscheduling. The DVRBs are given by numbers are 0˜N_(VRB) ^(DL)−1, areN_(VRB) ^(DL)=N_(VRB,gap1) ^(DL)=2·min(N_(gap), N_(RB) ^(DL)−N_(gap))for N_(gap)=N_(gap,1) and N_(VRB) ^(DL)=N_(VRB,gap2) ^(DL)=└N_(RB)^(DL)/2N_(gap)┘·2N_(gap) for N_(gap)=N_(gap,2). Also, min(A,B)represents the smaller value of A and B.

The continuous Ñ_(VRB) ^(DL) VRB numbers constitute a unit for VRBnumber interleaving. In case of N_(gap)=N_(gap,1), Ñ_(VRB) ^(DL)=N_(VRB)^(DL), and in case of N_(gap)=N_(gap,2), Ñ_(VRB) ^(DL)=2N_(gap). VRBnumber interleaving of each interleaving unit may be performed usingfour columns and N_(row) rows. N_(row)=┌Ñ_(VRB) ^(DL)/(4P)┐·P isobtained, wherein P represents a size of a resource block group (RBG).The RBG is defined by P continuous resource blocks. The VRB numbers arewritten in a matrix in a row-by-row format, and read out in acolumn-by-column format. N_(null) nulls are inserted into the lastN_(null)/2 rows of the second and fourth columns, andN_(null)=4N_(row)−Ñ_(VRB) ^(DL). The null values are disregarded duringreading.

Hereinafter, a resource allocation scheme defined in the existing LTEwill be described. In the LTE, frequency resource allocation may beindicated per subframe through the PDCCH. The physical RB (PRB) of thefirst half (i.e., the first slot) of the subframe is paired with that ofthe second half (i.e., the second slot) of the subframe during resourceallocation, wherein the PRBs have the same frequency. In thisspecification, in view of the first half of the subframe, the resourceallocation scheme will be described. In the existing LTE, variousmethods are used for resource allocation as illustrated in Table 2 andTable 3. Table 2 illustrates a downlink (DL) resource allocation method,and Table 3 illustrates an uplink (UL) resource allocation method.

TABLE 2 DL RA Method Description The number of required bits Type 0:bitmap Bitmap indicates RBG. RBG size depends on ┌N_(RB) ^(DL)/P┐ asystem band. Type 1: bitmap Bitmap separately indicates RB within RBG┌N_(RB) ^(DL)/P┐ subsets. The number of subsets depends on system band.The number of bits is set equally to the case of the type 0.Accordingly, the same DCI format is used to carry information of type 0or type 1. Type 2: continuous A start location of resource blocks andthe ┌log₂(N_(RB) ^(DL)(N_(RB) ^(DL) + 1)/2)┐ allocation number ofcontinuous resource blocks are indicated.

TABLE 3 UL RA Method Description The number of required bits ContinuousA start location of resource ┌log₂(N_(RB) ^(UL)(N_(RB) ^(UL) + 1)/2)┐allocation blocks and the number of continuous resource blocks areindicated.

In this case, N_(RB) ^(DL) represents a downlink bandwidth expressed bya multiple of N_(sc) ^(RB). In other words, N_(RB) ^(DL) represents adownlink bandwidth in a unit of RB. Similarly, N_(RB) ^(UL) representsan uplink bandwidth expressed by a multiple of N_(sc) ^(RB). In otherwords, N_(RB) ^(UL) represents an uplink bandwidth in a unit of RB. Prepresents the number of RBs constituting RBG.

FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C are diagrams illustrating control information formatsfor resource allocation types 0 to 2 of the existing LTE system andresource allocation examples based on the control information formats.

The user equipment interprets a resource allocation field based on thedetected PDCCH DCI formats. The resource allocation field within eachPDCCH includes a resource allocation header field and two parts ofactual resource block allocation information. The PDCCH DCI formats 1, 2and 2A for resource allocation of the types 0 and 1 have the sameformat, and are divided from one another through a single bit resourceallocation header field existing depending on a downlink system band. Inmore detail, the resource allocation of the type 0 is indicated by 0,and the resource allocation of the type 1 is indicated by 1. The PDCCHDCI formats 1, 2 and 2A are used for the resource allocation of the type1, whereas the PDCCH DCI formats 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D are used for theresource allocation of the type 2. The PDCCH DCI format having theresource allocation of the type 2 does not have a resource allocationheader field.

Referring to FIG. 6A, in the resource allocation of the type 0, resourceblock allocation information includes a bitmap indicating a resourceblock group (RBG) allocated to the user equipment. The RBG is a set ofcontinuous PRBs. The RBG size (P) depends on the system band asillustrated in Table 4 below.

TABLE 4 System band RBG size N_(RB) ^(DL) (P) ≦10 1 11-26 2 27-63 3 64-110 4

In a downlink system band having N_(RB) ^(DL) PRBs, a total numberN_(RBG) of RBGs is given by N_(RBG)=┌N_(RB) ^(DL)/P┐, and └N_(RB)^(DL)/P┘ RBGs have a size of P. In case of N_(RB) ^(DL) mod P>0, one ofthe RBGs is given by a size of N_(RB) ^(DL)−P·└N_(RB) ^(DL)/P┘. Also,mod represents modulo operation, ┌ ┐ represents a ceiling function, and└ ┘ represents a flooring function. The size of the bitmap is N_(RBG),and each bit corresponds to one RBG. All the RBGs are indexed by0˜N_(RBG)−1 in a frequency direction, and RBG 0˜RBG N_(RBG)−1 are mappedfrom the most significant bit (MSB) of the bitmap into the leastsignificant bit (LSB).

Referring to FIG. 6B, in the resource allocation of the type 1, N_(RBG)sized resource block allocation information indicates resources withinthe RBG subset in a unit of PRB for the scheduled user equipment. TheRBG subset p (0≦p<P) starts from RBG p and is configured by the Pth RBG.The resource block allocation information includes three fields. Thefirst field includes ┌ log₂(P)┐ bits, and indicates RBG subset selectedfrom P RBG subsets. The second field includes 1 bit, and indicates shiftof resource allocation span within the subset. If a bit value is 1,shift is triggered. If the bit value is not 1, shift is not triggered.The third field includes a bitmap, and each bit indicates one PRB withinthe selected RBG set. A bitmap part used to indicate the PRB within theselected RBG subset has a size of N_(RB) ^(TYPE1), and is defined asexpressed by the Equation 2 below.

N _(RB) ^(TYPE1) =┌N _(RB) ^(DL) /P┐−┌ log₂(P)┐1  [Equation 2]

An addressable PRB number in the selected RBG subset starts from offset(Δ_(shift)(p)) for the smallest PRB number within the selected RBGsubset, and may be mapped into the MSB of the bitmap. The offset isexpressed by the number of PRBs, and is applied within the selected RBGsubset. If the bit value within the second field for shift of theresource allocation span is set to 0, offset for the RBG subset p isgiven by Δ_(shift)(p)=0. In other case, the offset for the RBG subset pis given by Δ_(shift)(p)=N_(RB) ^(RBG subset)(p)−N_(RB) ^(TYPE1). N_(RB)^(RBG subset)(p) represents the number of PRBs within the RBG subset p,and may be obtained by the Equation 3 below.

$\begin{matrix}{{N_{RB}^{{RBG}_{subset}}(p)} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}{{\left\lfloor \frac{N_{RB}^{DL} - 1}{P^{2}} \right\rfloor \cdot P} + P} & {,{p < {\left\lfloor \frac{N_{RB}^{DL} - 1}{P} \right\rfloor {mod}\mspace{14mu} P}}} \\{{\left\lfloor \frac{N_{RB}^{DL} - 1}{P^{2}} \right\rfloor \cdot P} + {\left( {N_{RB}^{DL} - 1} \right){mod}\mspace{14mu} P} + 1} & {,{p = {\left\lfloor \frac{N_{RB}^{DL} - 1}{P} \right\rfloor {mod}\mspace{14mu} P}}} \\{\left\lfloor \frac{N_{RB}^{DL} - 1}{P^{2}} \right\rfloor \cdot P} & {,{p > {\left\lfloor \frac{N_{RB}^{DL} - 1}{P} \right\rfloor {mod}\mspace{14mu} P}}}\end{matrix} \right.} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 3} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Referring to FIG. 6C, the resource block allocation information in theresource allocation of the type 2 represents a set of LVRBs or DVRBscontinuously allocated to the scheduled user equipment. If resourceallocation is signaled by the PDCCH DCI format 1A, 1B or 1D, a 1-bitflag indicates whether the LVRBs or DVRBs are allocated (for example, 0represents LVRB allocation, and 1 represents DVRB allocation.). On theother hand, if resource allocation is signaled by the PDCCH DCI format1C, only the DVRBs are always allocated. The type 2 resource allocationfield includes a resource indication value (RIV), which corresponds to astart resource block RB_(start) and length. The length represents thenumber of virtual resource blocks allocated continuously.

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are diagrams illustrating discrete fourier transformspread orthogonal frequency division multiple access (DFT-s-OFDMA)transmitter/receiver. A DFT-s-OFDMA scheme is different from the OFDMAscheme in that a plurality of data symbols (i.e., data symbol sequences)are distributed in the frequency domain through DFT precoding prior toIFFT processing. The DFT-s-OFDMA scheme is referred to as an SC-FDMAscheme. In this specification, the DFT-s-OFDMA scheme and the SC-FDMAscheme will be used together.

Referring to FIG. 7A, the DFT-s-OFDMA transmitter 700 includes aconstellation mapping module 702, a serial to parallel converter 704, anNu-point FFT spreading module 706, a symbol-to-subcarrier mapping module708, an Nc-point IFFT module 710, a cyclic prefix module 712, and aparallel to serial converter 714. These modules are illustrated todescribe the embodiment of the present invention, and the DFT-s-OFDMAtransmitter 700 may further include additional modules. Also, functionsof some modules may be united into one module. In this case, Nu is aninput size of the FFT spreading module, and corresponds to the number ofscheduled subcarriers. Also, Nc corresponds to the number of allsubcarriers existing within the system band. Accordingly, the Nu valueand DFT input and output size based on the Nu value may be varied withinthe range of Nu≦Nc depending on data symbols scheduled per schedulingtime.

A signal processing procedure of the DFT-s-OFDMA transmitter 700 will bedescribed as follows. First of all, bit streams are modulated to datasymbol sequences (702). Afterwards, the serial data symbol sequences areconverted into parallel data symbol sequences as much as Nu. Theparallel data symbol sequences of the Nu length are converted intofrequency domain sequences of the Nu length through FFT processing ofthe same size (706). The FFT processing may be performed throughNu-point DFT processing. In this specification, FFT may be referred toas DFT. DFT processing may be referred to as DFT spreading or DFTprecoding. Then, the frequency domain sequences of the Nu length aremapped into Nu allocated subcarriers among a total of Nc subcarriers,and the other Nc-Nu subcarriers are padded with 0 (708). The sequencesmapped into the Nc subcarriers are converted into time domain sequencesof the Nc length through Nc-point IFFT processing (710). In order toreduce inter-symbol interference (ISI) and inter-carrier interference(ICI), cyclic prefix is configured in such a manner that Np samplesamong the time domain sequences are copied and added to the front of thesequences (712). The generated time domain sequences correspond to onetransmission symbol and are converted to the serial sequences throughthe parallel to serial converter (714). Then, the serial sequences aretransmitted to the receiver through frequency up-conversion. Availablesubcarriers from the other Nc-Nu subcarriers remaining after being usedby the previous user are allocated to the other user, so that the otheruser transmits the allocated data.

Referring to FIG. 7B, the receiver 720 includes a serial to parallelconverter 722, an Nc-point FFT module 724, a subcarrier-to-symbolmapping module 726, an Nu-point DFT despreading module 728, a parallelto serial converter 730, and a constellation demapping module 732.Because a signal processing procedure of the receiver 720 is configuredin reverse order of the transmitter 700, its detailed description mayrefer to the description of FIG. 7A.

In case of the LTE, the OFDMA scheme is used in a downlink, whereas theSC-FDMA scheme is used in an uplink. The OFDMA transmitter correspondsto the block diagram of FIG. 7A excluding the Nu-point FFT spreadingmodule 706, and the OFDMA receiver corresponds to the block diagram ofFIG. 7B excluding the Nu-point DFT despreading module 728.

Hereinafter, a method for mapping frequency domain sequences generatedby DFT precoding into subcarriers will be described with reference toFIG. 8 and FIG. 9. In the existing LTE, one continuous frequencyresource has been allocated to one user equipment in the uplink.However, in accordance with request of high speed communication and inorder to maximize use of frequency resources, the LTE-A (since Rel-10)system allows allocation of a plurality of discontinuous frequencyresources as well as one continuous frequency resource to one userequipment in the uplink.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a localized DFT-s-OFDMAtransmitter 800. FIG. 8 corresponds to a method for resource allocationin the existing LTE.

Referring to FIG. 8, for Nu data 804, the frequency domain sequencesoutput from the DFT module 806 are mapped into continuous subcarrierswithin the system band (808), and then processed by Nc-point IFFT module810. In other words, the frequency domain sequences of the Nu length aremapped into Nu continuous subcarriers. Because the method of FIG. 8allows data transmission through continuous subcarriers at a given time,scheduling flexibility may be deteriorated. For example, if thetransmitter and the receiver have good radio channel response propertiesin a plurality of frequency domains spaced apart from one another at arandom time, this method does not allow data transmission to thefrequency domains, which are spaced apart from one another, at the sametime.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a clustered DFT-s-OFDMAtransmitter 900. FIG. 9 corresponds to a method for resource allocation,which is additionally used in the LTE-A. A user equipment of the LTE-Amay use the method of FIG. 8 or the method of FIG. 9 based on resourceallocation information.

Referring to FIG. 9, for Nu data 904, the frequency domain sequencesoutput from the DFT module 906 are mapped into the system bandirregularly and discontinuously (908), and then processed by Nc-pointIFFT module 910. According to this method of FIG. 9, the localizedDFT-s-OFDMA scheme is independently applied to the plurality offrequency domains spaced apart from one another. For convenience, eachresource set (or frequency band) to which the localized DFT-s-OFDMAscheme is applied will be referred to as a cluster. The cluster includesone or more continuous subcarriers. Accordingly, in this method, aplurality of data symbols which have been processed by DFT precoding aremapped into the continuous subcarriers within M(≧1) clusters spacedapart from one another in the frequency domain. FIG. 9 illustrates threeclusters. Sizes (for example, subcarriers, RB or the number of RBGs) ofthe clusters may be set independently. A PAPR value of a transmittingsignal is greater than that of the localized DFT-s-OFDMA scheme if thevalue of M is greater than 1. However, if the value of M is set within asmall range, a PAPR value smaller than that of the OFDMA scheme isensured and at the same time scheduling flexibility can be improved.

Embodiment

With the introduction of a method (for convenience, referred to as UL RAtype N) for discontinuous uplink resource allocation to the LTE-Asystem, various methods for efficiently signaling the UL RA type N havebeen discussed in the art.

As the first method, a method for using a bitmap separately indicatingUL RB (or RBG) such as DL RA type 0 has been suggested. According tothis method, perfect the scheduling freedom is ensured duringdiscontinuous resource allocation. However, if there are n RBs (or RBGs)in UL band, since RA field of n bits is required, the amount of controlinformation may be increased extremely. Moreover, considering that asize of the RA field for existing PUSCH scheduling is defined as ┌log₂(N_(RB) ^(UL)(N_(RB) ^(UL)+1)/2)┐, a new DCI format should bedefined to support this method.

As the second method, a method for restricting a resource region towhich each cluster may be allocated while reusing the existingcontinuous allocation method (RA type 2) has been suggested. Forexample, if the UL band includes ten RBGs, the first cluster may beallocated within the RBGs 0 to 4 only, and the second cluster may beallocated within the RBGs 5 to 9 only. In this case, the size of the RAfield may be given by 2·┌ log₂(N_(RBG) ^(Cluster Span)·(N_(RBG)^(Cluster Span)+1)/2)┐ represents a size of a region to which eachcluster may be allocated, and has a size of RBG unit. According to thismethod, as the size of N_(RBG) ^(Cluster Span) is adjusted,discontinuous resource allocation may be performed using the existing RAfield. However, since the region to which each cluster may be allocatedis restricted, a problem occurs in that the scheduling freedom isreduced.

As described above, if a bitmap indicating a separate RB (or RBG) isused during discontinuous uplink resource allocation, the amount ofcontrol information may be increased considerably. For this reason, aproblem occurs in that the existing DCI format cannot be reused. Also,if the existing continuous allocation method (that is, RIV) and DCIformat are reused during discontinuous uplink resource allocation, sincethe region to which the cluster may be allocated is restricted tomaintain the size of the existing DCI format, a problem occurs in thatthe scheduling freedom is reduced.

Hereinafter, a method for discontinuous uplink resource allocation,which can ensure the scheduling freedom while not increasing the amountof information for resource allocation, will be described with referenceto the drawings. In more detail, the present invention suggests that acombinatorial index corresponding to a plurality of resource setsallocated discontinuously should be used. The combinatorial index may beincluded in the RA field of the DCI format for PUSCH scheduling. Thecombinatorial index is used to indicate that specific combinatorialindexes are selected from all combinatorial indexes. For convenience, aset of specific combinatorial indexes is expressed as {S_(i)}_(i=0)^(M′-1). In this case, M′=2M, and M represents the number of allocatedresource sets (for example, clusters). Also, {S₀, S₁} corresponds to thefirst resource set, and {s₂, s₃} corresponds to the second resource set.In other words, {S_(2m-2), S_(2m-1)} corresponds to the m (m=1, 2, . . ., M)th resource set. The correspondence relation may be defineddifferently. A method for resource allocation based on combinatorialindexes will later be described in more detail.

First of all, a total number of RBs corresponding to all UL systembandwidths or UL bandwidths available for resource allocation will bedefined as N_(RB) ^(UL). For convenience, although RBG is used as aminimum granularity for resource allocation in this embodiment, this isonly exemplary and may be defined differently. If the number of RBsconstituting RBG is P (P=1, 2, . . . ), a total of N_(RBG) ^(UL) RBGsfor resource allocation may be defined for a total of N_(RB) ^(UL) RBs.In more detail, N_(RBG) ^(UL) may be given by ┌N_(RB) ^(UL)/P┐ (or,ceiling (N_(RB) ^(UL)/P)). In this case, ┌x┐ or ceiling(x) represents aminimum integer greater than or equal to x. In the mean time, N_(RBG)^(UL) may be given by └N_(RB) ^(UL)/P┘ (or floor (N_(RB) ^(UL)/P)) orround (N_(RB) ^(UL)/P) depending on definition and size of the resourceallocation field. In this case, └x┘ or floor(x) represents a maximuminteger smaller than or equal to x. Also, round(x) means round-off forx.

Furthermore, the number of resource sets (for example, RBG clusters)discontinuously allocated to the user equipment is defined as M (M=2, 3,. . . ). In this case, M may be set to all the user equipments equally(that is, cell-specifically), or may be set independently per userequipment (that is, UE-specifically). Preferably, M=2 may be fixed toall the user equipments.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of RBG indexing based RBGmap for resource allocation. In FIG. 10, it is assumed that the UL bandincludes twenty RBs (N_(RB) ^(UL)=20). In this case, referring to Table4, the RBG includes two RBs. In this respect, RB #1˜#20 is grouped intoRBG #1˜#10. Hereinafter, the RBG is used as the basic UL resourceallocation unit. Although FIG. 10 illustrates that RB indexes and RBGindexes start from 1, they may be defined such that they start from 0.

Method 1: Indication of Combination of RBG Indexes by CombinatorialIndexes

This method illustrates a method for allocating a plurality ofdiscontinuous uplink resource sets (for example, RBG clusters) based onRBG indexing. For convenience, a starting RBG index and an ending RBGindex of the RBG clusters allocated to the user equipment will bereferred to as S and E, respectively. A starting RBG index and an endingRBG index of the mth RBG set will be referred to as S_(m) and E_(m),respectively. For convenience, a case where two RBG clusters areallocated will be described. In this case, combinatorial indexes may beused to indicate {S_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) (M′=4).

For resource allocation, {s₀, s₁}={S₁, E₁} and {s₂, s₃}={S₂, E₂} may bedefined similarly. However, considering that the RBG cluster includesone RBG, the combinatorial indexes should indicate combination of s₀=s₁and/or s₂=s₃. In this case, since the number of all combinations isincreased by repeated selection, much more control information may berequired. Accordingly, in order to avoid repeated selection, restrictionof s_(i)<s_(i+1) may be considered. However, if restriction ofs_(i)<s_(i+1) is considered, a problem occurs in that a resource setconfigured by one RBG cannot be allocated.

Accordingly, the following methods may be considered.

-   -   Method 1-1: {s₀, s₁}={S₁, E₁+1}, {s₂, s₃}={S₂, E₂+1}    -   Method 1-2: {s₀, s₁}={S₁−1, E₁}, {s₂, s₃}={S₂−1, E₂}

According to the method 1-1, the RBG index of the allocated resource setis given by {S_(m), E_(m)}={s_(2m-2), s_(2m-1)−1} (m=1, 2, . . . , M).Similarly, according to the method 1-2, the RBG index of the allocatedresource set is given by {S_(m), E_(m)}={s_(2m-2)+1, s_(2m-1)}.

Hereinafter, the methods 1-1 and 1-2 will be described in more detailwith reference to the drawings.

Method 1-1: Indication of Starting/Ending-Rear RBG of RBG Cluster

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a method for resource allocationaccording to the method 1-1.

Referring to FIG. 11, this method is based on RBG indexing, and {S_(m),E_(m)+1} (that is, starting RBG index and ending-rear RBG index) isnotified to each of M RBG clusters, which are allocated to the userequipment, among a total of N_(RBG) RBGs. As described above, thecombinatorial index included in the DCI format for PUSCH schedulingindicates {s_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) (M′=2M), and the user equipment mayidentify {S_(m), E_(m)} from the relation of {s_(2m-2),s_(2m-1)}={S_(m), E_(m)+1}.

In case of this method, in order that the ending RBG of the RBG clustermay be allocated to the last RBG index, a virtual RBG may additionallybe defined at the rear (high RBG index direction) of the last RBG indexas illustrated in FIG. 11. In this case, in case of the virtual RBG,actual resource allocation cannot be performed and is used for indexingonly.

In this method, 2M (=M′) indexes for allocation of M RBG clusters may beencoded to different bits or encoded to different bits per cluster, ormay be joint-encoded together with all the indexes of all the clustersto reduce the number of bits required for resource allocation. Also, asdescribed above, in this method, 2M(=M′) indexes for identifying M RBGclusters may be selected in case of only combination having norepetition. For convenience, if N=N_(RBG), a total number of RBG indexesbecome N+1 including a virtual RBG. Accordingly, in this method, thenumber of bits required for resource allocation becomes ceiling(log₂(_(N+1)C_(2M))). In more detail, when N+1 RBG indexes from 1 to N+1are defined in this method, a combinatorial index r for signalingresource allocation of M RBG clusters may be expressed as follows.

$\begin{matrix}{{r = {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{M^{\prime} - 1}{\langle\begin{matrix}{\left( {N + 1} \right) - s_{i}} \\{M^{\prime} - i}\end{matrix}\rangle}}},{{\langle\begin{matrix}x \\y\end{matrix}\rangle} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} \geq y} \\0 & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} < y}\end{matrix} \right.}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 4} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In this case, {s_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) (1≦s_(i)≦N+1, s_(i)<s_(i+1)) meansM′(=2M) RBG indexes subjected to sorting.

$\quad\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix}$

represents

$\frac{{x\left( {x - 1} \right)}{\ldots \left( {x - y + 1} \right)}}{{y\left( {y - 1} \right)}{\ldots 1}} = {\frac{x!}{{\left( {x - y} \right)!}{y!}}.}$

In another method, when N+1 RBG indexes from 0 to N are defined, thecombinatorial index r for signaling resource allocation of M RBGclusters may be expressed as follows.

$\begin{matrix}{{r = {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{M^{\prime} - 1}{\langle\begin{matrix}{(N) - s_{i}} \\{M^{\prime} - i}\end{matrix}\rangle}}},{{\langle\begin{matrix}x \\y\end{matrix}\rangle} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} \geq y} \\0 & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} < y}\end{matrix} \right.}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 5} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In this {s_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1)(0≦s_(i)≦N, s_(i)<s_(i+1)) means M′(=2M)RBG indexes subjected to sorting.

$\quad\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix}$

represents

$\frac{{x\left( {x - 1} \right)}{\ldots \left( {x - y + 1} \right)}}{{y\left( {y - 1} \right)}{\ldots 1}}.$

In the Equations 4 and 5, N may be given by the following Equation.

┌N _(RB) ^(UL) /P┐+1  [Equation 6]

In this case, N_(RB) ^(UL) represents the number of resource blocks ofthe uplink band. P represents the number of resource blocks constitutingRBG. ┌ ┐ represents a ceiling function.

Table 5 illustrates RBG size (P) depending on the system band.

TABLE 5 System band RBG size N_(RB) ^(UL) (P) ≦10 1 11-26 2 27-63 3 64-110 4

Additionally, in this method, {E_(m)+1}={s_(2m-1)} may be interpreted asa starting RBG index of a non-allocation RBG region adjacent to the rearof the mth RBG cluster.

Method 1-2) Indication of Starting-Front/Ending RBG of RBG Cluster

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a method for resource allocationaccording to the method 1-2.

Referring to FIG. 12, this method is based on RBG indexing, and{S_(m)−1, E_(m)} (that is, starting-front RBG index and ending RBGindex) is notified to each of M RBG clusters, which are allocated to theuser equipment, among a total of N_(RBG) RBGs. As described above, thecombinatorial index included in the DCI format for PUSCH schedulingindicates {s_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) (M′=2M), and the user equipment mayidentify {S_(m), E_(m)} from the relation of {s_(2m-2),s_(2m-1)}={S_(m)−1, E_(m)}.

In case of this method, in order that the ending RBG of the RBG clustermay be allocated to the last RBG index, a virtual RBG may additionallybe defined at the front (low RBG index direction) of the first RBG indexas illustrated in FIG. 12. In this case, in case of the virtual RBG,actual resource allocation cannot be performed and is used for indexingonly.

In this method, 2M (=M′) indexes for allocation of M RBG clusters may beencoded to different bits or encoded to different bits per cluster, ormay be joint-encoded together with all the indexes of all the clustersto reduce the number of bits required for resource allocation. Also, asdescribed above, in this method, 2M(=M′) indexes for identifying M RBGclusters may be selected in case of only combination having norepetition. For convenience, if N=N_(RBG), a total number of RBG indexesbecome N+1 including a virtual RBG. Accordingly, in this method, thenumber of bits required for resource allocation becomes ceiling(log₂(_(N+1)C_(2M)))

When N+1 RBG indexes from 1 to N+1 are defined in this method, acombinatorial index r for signaling resource allocation of M RBGclusters may be expressed as given by the Equation 4. Also, when N+1 RBGindexes from 0 to N are defined, the combinatorial index r for signalingresource allocation of M RBG clusters may be expressed as given by theEquation 5.

Additionally, in this method, {S_(m)−1}={s_(2m-2)} may be interpreted asan ending RBG index of a non-allocation RBG region adjacent to the frontof the mth RBG cluster.

Method 2: Indication of Combination of RBG Borders by CombinatorialIndex

This method illustrates a method for allocating a plurality ofdiscontinuous uplink resource sets (for example, RBG clusters) based onRBG border indexing. For convenience, a starting RBG border index and anending RBG border index of the RBG clusters allocated to the userequipment will be referred to as SB and EB, respectively. A starting RBGborder index and an ending RBG border index of the mth RBG set will bereferred to as SB_(m) and EB_(m), respectively. For convenience, a casewhere two RBG clusters are allocated will be described. In this case,combinatorial indexes may be used to indicate {s_(i)}_(i=0)^(M′-1)(M′=4).

FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating a method for resourceallocation according to the method 2.

Referring to FIGS. 13A and 13B, this method is based on RBG borderindexing, and {SB_(m), EB_(m)} (that is, starting RBG border index andending RBG border index) is notified to each of M RBG clusters, whichare allocated to the user equipment, among a total of N_(RBG) RBGs. Asdescribed above, the combinatorial index included in the DCI format forPUSCH scheduling indicates {s_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) (M′=2M), and the userequipment may identify {SB_(m), EB_(m)} from the relation of {s_(2m-2),s_(2m-1)}={SB_(m), EB_(m)}.

In this method, 2M (=M′) indexes for allocation of M RBG clusters may beencoded to different bits or encoded to different bits per cluster, ormay be joint-encoded together with all the indexes of all the clustersto reduce the number of bits required for resource allocation. Also, asdescribed above, in this method, 2M(=M′) indexes for identifying M RBGclusters may be selected in case of only combination having norepetition. For convenience, if N=N_(RBG), a total number of RBG indexesbecome N+1. Accordingly, in this method, the number of bits required forresource allocation becomes ceiling (log₂(_(N+1)C_(2M))).

When N+1 RBG indexes from 1 to N+1 are defined in this method, acombinatorial index r for signaling resource allocation of M RBGclusters may be expressed as follows.

$\begin{matrix}{{r = {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{M^{\prime} - 1}{\langle\begin{matrix}{\left( {N + 1} \right) - s_{i}} \\{M^{\prime} - i}\end{matrix}\rangle}}},{{\langle\begin{matrix}x \\y\end{matrix}\rangle} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} \geq y} \\0 & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} < y}\end{matrix} \right.}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 7} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In this case, {s_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) (1≦s_(i)≦N+1, s_(i)<s_(i+1)) meansM′(=2M) RBG border indexes subjected to sorting.

$\quad\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix}$

represents

$\frac{{x\left( {x - 1} \right)}{\ldots \left( {x - y + 1} \right)}}{{y\left( {y - 1} \right)}{\ldots 1}}.$

In another method, when N+1 RBG indexes from 0 to N are defined, thecombinatorial index r for signaling resource allocation of M RBGclusters may be expressed as follows.

$\begin{matrix}{{r = {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{M^{\prime} - 1}{\langle\begin{matrix}{N - s_{i}} \\{M^{\prime} - i}\end{matrix}\rangle}}},{{\langle\begin{matrix}x \\y\end{matrix}\rangle} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} \geq y} \\0 & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} < y}\end{matrix} \right.}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 8} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In this case, {s_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) (0≦s_(i)≦N, s_(i)<s_(i+1)), meansM′(=2M) RBG border indexes subjected to sorting.

$\quad\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix}$

represents

$\frac{{x\left( {x - 1} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} \left( {x - y + 1} \right)}{{y\left( {y - 1} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} 1}.$

In case of the method 2, RBG border indexing not the RBG indexing isused, whereas definition of additional virtual RBG is not requiredunlike the method 1.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of uplink transmissionaccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 14, the user equipment receives resource allocationinformation including combinatorial indexes from a network node (forexample, base station or relay) (S1402). A field for resource allocationinformation is included in the DCI, and may be received through adownlink control channel (for example, PDCCH). If a PDCCH having a DCIformat for PUSCH scheduling is detected from a subframe n, the userequipment performs a process for PUSCH transmission based on PDCCHinformation at the subframe n+4. To this end, the user equipmentinterprets resource allocation information. In more detail, the userequipment acquires {s_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) corresponding to thecombinatorial index (S1404), and identifies a resource set correspondingto the acquired one (S1404). Afterwards, the user equipment maps anuplink signal into a plurality of continuous resource sets (for example,RBG clusters) corresponding to {s_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) (S1406). Therelation between {s_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) and the resource set according tothe methods 1-1/1-2/2 is illustrated in FIG. 14 under the assumptionthat two RBG clusters are allocated. The uplink signal includesuplink-shared channel (UL-SCH) data and/or control information. Finally,the user equipment performs uplink transmission by using the resourceset allocated from the network node (for example, base station or relay)(S1408). The uplink transmission may be performed through an uplinkshared channel (for example, PUSCH).

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of resource allocation informationaccording to the embodiment of the present invention. In this example,it is assumed that the number of RBGs is 9 and two resource sets (forexample, RBG clusters) are allocated. Each of the resource sets isconfigured by continuous resources (for example, RBG).

Referring to FIG. 15, if a combinatorial index r within the resourceallocation information indicates 117, since r=70+35+10+2=117, {s₀, s₁,s₂, s₃}={2,3,5,8}_(RBG) is obtained. According to the aforementionedmethod 1-1, since {S_(m), E_(m)}={s_(2m-2), s_(2m-1)−1}, {S₁, E₁}={s₀,s₁−1}={2,2}_(RBG) and {S₂, E₂}={s₂, s₃−1}={5,7}_(RBG) are obtained.Accordingly, RBG #2 and RBG #5˜7 are used to transmit the uplink signal.

Although not illustrated, if the method 1-2 and the method 2 are used,the methods are used as follows to transmit the uplink signal.

-   -   Method 1-2: {S_(m), E_(m)}={s_(2m-2)+1, s_(2m-1)}=>{S₁,        E₁}={s₀+1, s₁}={3,3}_(RBG){S₂, E₂}={s₂+1, s₃}={6,8}_(RBG)

=>RBG #3 and RBG #6˜8 are used to transmit the uplink signal.

-   -   Method 2: {SB_(m), EB_(m)}={s_(2m-2), s_(2m-1)}=>{S_(m),        E_(m)}={s_(2m-2)+1, s_(2m-1)}=>{S₁, E₁}={s₀+1,        s₁}={3,3}_(RBG){S₂, E₂}={s₂+1, s₃}={6,8}_(RBG)

=>RBG #3 and RBG #6-8 are used to transmit the uplink signal.

The aforementioned description has been made based on discontinuousuplink resource allocation. The LTE-A system may support both continuousuplink resource allocation and discontinuous uplink resource allocation.These two resource allocation methods may be signaled through the sameDCI format. In this case, a resource allocation type, which is actuallyused, may be identified using a flag bit. For example, in the samemanner as the DL RA type 0/1, a flag of 1 bit is applied to RA header ofthe DCI format for PUSCH scheduling, and then continuous resourceallocation and discontinuous resource allocation may be signaledselectively through the flag of 1 bit.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a base station and a user equipment,which may be applied to one embodiment of the present invention. Theblock diagram of the base station-user equipment may be replaced with ablock diagram of base station-relay or relay-user equipment.

Referring to FIG. 16, a wireless communication system includes a basestation (BS) 110 and a user equipment (UE) 120. The base station 110includes a processor 112, a memory 114, and a radio frequency (RF) unit116. The processor 112 may be configured to implement the proceduresand/or the methods suggested in the present invention. The memory 114 isconnected with the processor 112 and stores various kinds of informationrelated to the operation of the processor 112. The RF unit 116 isconnected with the processor 112 and transmits and/or receives a radiosignal. The user equipment 120 includes a processor 122, a memory 124,and a radio frequency (RF) unit 126. The processor 122 may be configuredto implement the procedures and/or the methods suggested in the presentinvention. The memory 124 is connected with the processor 122 and storesvarious kinds of information related to the operation of the processor122. The RF unit 126 is connected with the processor 122 and transmitsand/or receives a radio signal. The base station 110 and/or the userequipment 120 may have a single antenna or multiple antennas.

The aforementioned embodiments are achieved by combination of structuralelements and features of the present invention in a predetermined type.Each of the structural elements or features should be consideredselectively unless specified separately. Each of the structural elementsor features may be carried out without being combined with otherstructural elements or features. Also, some structural elements and/orfeatures may be combined with one another to constitute the embodimentsof the present invention. The order of operations described in theembodiments of the present invention may be changed. Some structuralelements or features of one embodiment may be included in anotherembodiment, or may be replaced with corresponding structural elements orfeatures of another embodiment. Moreover, it will be apparent that someclaims referring to specific claims may be combined with another claimsreferring to the other claims other than the specific claims toconstitute the embodiment or add new claims by means of amendment afterthe application is filed.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described based onthe data transmission and reception between the base station and theuser equipment. A specific operation which has been described as beingperformed by the base station may be performed by an upper node of thebase station as the case may be. In other words, it will be apparentthat various operations performed for communication with the userequipment in the network which includes a plurality of network nodesalong with the base station may be performed by the base station ornetwork nodes other than the base station. The base station may bereplaced with terms such as a fixed station, Node B, eNode B (eNB), andaccess point. Also, the user equipment may be replaced with terms suchas mobile station (MS) and mobile subscriber station (MSS).

The embodiments according to the present invention may be implemented byvarious means, for example, hardware, firmware, software, or theircombination. If the embodiment according to the present invention isimplemented by hardware, the embodiment of the present invention may beimplemented by one or more application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processingdevices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers,microprocessors, etc.

If the embodiment according to the present invention is implemented byfirmware or software, the embodiment of the present invention may beimplemented by a type of a module, a procedure, or a function, whichperforms functions or operations described as above. A software code maybe stored in a memory unit and then may be driven by a processor. Thememory unit may be located inside or outside the processor to transmitand receive data to and from the processor through various means whichare well known.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the presentinvention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing fromthe spirit and essential characteristics of the invention. Thus, theabove embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not restrictive. The scope of the invention should be determined byreasonable interpretation of the appended claims and all change whichcomes within the equivalent scope of the invention are included in thescope of the invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention can be used for a wireless communication devicesuch as a user equipment, a relay and a base station.

1. A method for transmitting an uplink signal in a wirelesscommunication system, the method comprising: receiving a control channelsignal including resource allocation information for two or morenon-consecutive resource block sets, each resource block set of the twoor more non-consecutive resource block sets including a single resourceblock group (RBG) or at least two consecutive RBGs; and transmitting theuplink signal in accordance with the resource allocation information,wherein the resource allocation information uses a combinatorial indexcorresponding to at least four RBG indices: s₀, s₁, s₂ and s₃ toindicate the two or more non-consecutive resource block sets, wherein s₀and s₁−1 indicate a starting RBG and an ending RBG, respectively, of afirst resource block set of the two or more non-consecutive resourceblock sets, and wherein s₂ and s₃−1 indicate a starting RBG and anending RBG, respectively, of a second resource block set of the two ormore non-consecutive resource block sets.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the control channel signal is a physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH) signal, and the uplink signal is a physical uplinkshared channel (PUSCH) signal.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thecombinatorial index is an index r per the following Equation:${r = {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{M^{\prime} - 1}{\langle\begin{matrix}{N - s_{i}} \\{M^{\prime} - i}\end{matrix}\rangle}}},{{\langle\begin{matrix}x \\y\end{matrix}\rangle} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} \geq y} \\0 & {{{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} < y},}\end{matrix} \right.}$ where, M′ is 4, N is the number of RBGs+1,{s_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) satisfies 1≦s_(i)≦N and s_(i)<s_(i+1), and$\quad\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix}$ represents$\frac{{x\left( {x - 1} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} \left( {x - y + 1} \right)}{{y\left( {y - 1} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} 1}.$4. The method of claim 1, wherein the N is given by the followingEquation:┌N _(RB) ^(UL) /P┐+1 where N_(RB) ^(UL) represents the number ofresource blocks of an uplink band, P represents the number of resourceblocks constituting an RBG, and ┌ ┐ represents a ceiling function.
 5. Acommunication apparatus configured for use in a wireless communicationsystem, the communication apparatus comprising: a radio frequency (RF)unit; a memory; and a processor coupled to the RF unit and the memory,the processor is configured: receive a control channel signal includingresource allocation information for two or more non-consecutive resourceblock sets, each resource block set of the two or more non-consecutiveresource block sets including a single resource block group (RBG) or atleast two consecutive RBGs, and transmit an uplink signal in accordancewith the resource allocation information, wherein the resourceallocation information uses a combinatorial index corresponding to atleast four RBG indices: s₀, s₁, s₂ and s₃ to indicate the two or morenon-consecutive resource block sets, wherein s₀ and s₁−1 indicate astarting RBG and an ending RBG, respectively, of a first resource blockset of the two or more non-consecutive resource block sets, and whereins₂ and s₃−1 indicate a starting RBG and an ending RBG, respectively, ofa second resource block set of the two or more non-consecutive resourceblock sets.
 6. The communication apparatus of claim 5, wherein thecontrol channel signal is a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)signal, and the uplink signal is a physical uplink shared channel(PUSCH) signal.
 7. The communication apparatus of claim 5, wherein thecombinatorial index is an index r per the following Equation:${r = {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{M^{\prime} - 1}{\langle\begin{matrix}{N - s_{i}} \\{M^{\prime} - i}\end{matrix}\rangle}}},{{\langle\begin{matrix}x \\y\end{matrix}\rangle} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} \geq y} \\0 & {{{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} < y},}\end{matrix} \right.}$ where, M′ is 4, N is the number of RBGs+1,{s_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) satisfies 1≦s_(i)≦N and s_(i)<s_(i+1), and$\quad\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix}$ represents$\frac{{x\left( {x - 1} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} \left( {x - y + 1} \right)}{{y\left( {y - 1} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} 1}.$8. The communication apparatus of claim 5, wherein the N is given by thefollowing Equation:┌N _(RB) ^(UL) /P┐+1 where N_(RB) ^(UL) represents the number ofresource blocks of an uplink band, P represents the number of resourceblocks constituting an RBG, and ┌ ┐ represents a ceiling function.
 9. Amethod for receiving an uplink signal in a wireless communicationsystem, the method comprising: transmitting a control channel signalincluding resource allocation information for two or morenon-consecutive resource block sets, each resource block set of the twoor more non-consecutive resource block sets including a single resourceblock group (RBG) or at least two consecutive RBGs; and receiving theuplink signal in accordance with the resource allocation information,wherein the resource allocation information uses a combinatorial indexcorresponding to at least four RBG indices: s₀, s₁, s₂ and s₃ toindicate the two or more non-consecutive resource block sets, wherein s₀and s₁−1 indicate a starting RBG and an ending RBG, respectively, of afirst resource block set of the two or more non-consecutive resourceblock sets, and wherein s₂ and s₃−1 indicate a starting RBG and anending RBG, respectively, of a second resource block set of the two ormore non-consecutive resource block sets.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the control channel signal is a physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH) signal, and the uplink signal is a physical uplinkshared channel (PUSCH) signal.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein thecombinatorial index is an index r per the following Equation:${r = {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{M^{\prime} - 1}{\langle\begin{matrix}{N - s_{i}} \\{M^{\prime} - i}\end{matrix}\rangle}}},{{\langle\begin{matrix}x \\y\end{matrix}\rangle} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} \geq y} \\0 & {{{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} < y},}\end{matrix} \right.}$ where, M′ is 4, N is the number of RBGs+1,{s_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) satisfies 1≦s_(i)≦N and s_(i)<s_(i+1), and$\quad\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix}$ represents$\frac{{x\left( {x - 1} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} \left( {x - y + 1} \right)}{{y\left( {y - 1} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} 1}.$12. The method of claim 9, wherein the N is given by the followingEquation:┌N _(RB) ^(UL) /P┐+1 where N_(RB) ^(UL) represents the number ofresource blocks of an uplink band, P represents the number of resourceblocks constituting an RBG, and ┌ ┐ represents a ceiling function.
 13. Acommunication apparatus configured for use in a wireless communicationsystem, the communication apparatus comprising: a radio frequency (RF)unit; a memory; and a processor coupled to the RF unit and the memory,the processor is configured: transmit a control channel signal includingresource allocation information for two or more non-consecutive resourceblock sets, each resource block set of the two or more non-consecutiveresource block sets including a single resource block group (RBG) or atleast two consecutive RBGs, and receive an uplink signal in accordancewith the resource allocation information, wherein the resourceallocation information uses a combinatorial index corresponding to atleast four RBG indices: s₀, s₁, s₂ and s₃ to indicate the two or morenon-consecutive resource block sets, wherein s₀ and s₁−1 indicate astarting RBG and an ending RBG, respectively, of a first resource blockset of the two or more non-consecutive resource block sets, and whereins₂ and s₃−1 indicate a starting RBG and an ending RBG, respectively, ofa second resource block set of the two or more non-consecutive resourceblock sets.
 14. The communication apparatus of claim 13, wherein thecontrol channel signal is a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)signal, and the uplink signal is a physical uplink shared channel(PUSCH) signal.
 15. The communication apparatus of claim 13, wherein thecombinatorial index is an index r per the following Equation:${r = {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{M^{\prime} - 1}{\langle\begin{matrix}{N - s_{i}} \\{M^{\prime} - i}\end{matrix}\rangle}}},{{\langle\begin{matrix}x \\y\end{matrix}\rangle} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} \geq y} \\0 & {{{{if}\mspace{14mu} x} < y},}\end{matrix} \right.}$ where, M′ is 4, N is the number of RBGs+1,{S_(i)}_(i=0) ^(M′-1) satisfies 1≦s_(i)≦N and s_(i)<s₊₁, and$\quad\begin{pmatrix}x \\y\end{pmatrix}$ represents$\frac{{x\left( {x - 1} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} \left( {x - y + 1} \right)}{{y\left( {y - 1} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} 1}.$16. The communication apparatus of claim 13, wherein the N is given bythe following Equation:┌N _(RB) ^(UL) /P┐+1 where N_(RB) ^(UL) represents the number ofresource blocks of an uplink band, P represents the number of resourceblocks constituting an RBG, and ┌ ┐ represents a ceiling function.